Apple's in-ear headphones have always been white. From the first wired with the first iPod 20 years ago to the AirPods Pro, they have always kept their color. bright white unpolluted.
Not a single version of them has had a note of color. As much as the devices that accompany the AirPods they have changed color according to the year, they have always remained pure and white regardless of fashions and trends. This is due to an initial idea that has endured over the years. But maybe things will change ...
Apple has been selling its iPod for almost 20 years, and a lot has changed over time. But one thing has remained the same: the headphones have always been white. From wired 3,5mm jack headphones to Lightning, from early AirPods to AirPods Pro, Apple has always stayed true to its bright white color.
But why does Apple have colored iPods, colored iPhones, colored Apple Watch, colored iPads and even now iMacs are colored, but headphones internal are they still white? Let's see a bit of history ...
Design has always played a huge role at Apple. The company wants to sell unique products that people can easily recognize immediately. This is one of the reasons, why Apple used to put a logo shiny on your MacBooks, so you could tell it was a Mac from a great distance.
The new Beats are in three colors. Will the same happen with the next AirPods?
The same goes for the apple on the back of iPhones. If someone is speaking for a iPhone, you can see from afar that it is an Apple device. Unless you cover it with a cover, of course.
However, when Apple introduced the iPod to the 2001, the company ran into a major problem: how are people on the street supposed to know if someone is using an iPod if it is in their pocket? Apple found the solution to this problem. You may not see the iPod when someone is using it, but you can see the headphones.
A way to differentiate them from the rest
However, the headphones were too small to put a visible Apple logo on them. How else could you make them easily identifiable?
It happened that, 20 years ago, most headphones were black. Therefore, Apple decided to design the iPod and headphones in exactly the opposite way: in white. You might still remember the old iPod ad where silhouettes danced in white headphones - here, too, Apple struggled to focus not just on the iPod itself, but the shiny white headphones as well.
And this idea has endured over time. Apple has wanted for many years to continue to associate the image that if they are white headphones, they are Apple Lossless Audio CODEC (ALAC),. Today this concept no longer makes sense. And lately there are signs that this may change.
First with the AirPods Max. You have them in five colors to choose from. But of course it is a huge and easily identifiable device. They don't have to be white to know they're from Apple. And the second indication is the Beats headphones that belong to Apple. You have them in white, red and black. Perhaps it is a warning of the colors of the next AirPods ... or not.